Like many of us, I spend too much time on TikTok. I have seen a lot of videos recently spouting psychology facts. I am usually a person that does not fact check, especially when scrolling through TikTok. As my For You Page becomes more inundated with these psychology videos, I have started to wonder if these videos are based on facts. So, let’s take a deeper look and debunk some of these TikToks!
1. MYTH: If you look at someone while you’re laughing, it means you love them.
While this could be true for you, most people tend to look at the person they feel closest to when laughing in a large group. We look to those people when laughing as validation, so it does not necessarily mean you are in love with them.
2. MYTH: If you do x, y, and z you are living with high functioning anxiety.
While you could be living with high functioning anxiety, everyone displays some level of anxiety throughout their lives… you cannot trust TikTok to diagnose you. Please see an actual medical professional.
3. FACT: Shivering when you are not cold is a trauma response.
Psychogenic shivers are shivers triggered by a biological or cultural stimulus. These shivers can be triggered by a reminder of a traumatic experience.
4. FACT: If you get chills listening to music, you have more synapses in your brains.
Only about 50% of the population is capable of getting chills, goosebumps, or a lump in their throat from listening to music. An MRI showed that these people have more fibers connecting their auditory processor to the area in the brain where emotions are processed.
5. MYTH: If you have persistent thoughts, you could have OCD.
Everyone will at one point experience persistent and intrusive thoughts. While they are uncomfortable and can be upsetting these thoughts do not necessarily mean you have OCD. Again, do not trust TikTok for a diagnosis, if you think you may live with OCD go talk to a professional.
The moral of the story is that you can’t trust everything you see on TikTok. Make sure to do research and learn from trusted studies and professionals before you start to self-diagnose or spread false information. Really, you should just listen to the doctors on these things.
But if you are dead set on learning all your psychology facts from TikTok, check out @dr_inna. She is a psychology professor that debunks unsupported psychology TikToks.